"His Smile Was a Warning" A Dark High School Romance Short Story

No one talked to Aarav.

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Not because he was mean.

Because his smile never faded — not even when no one was looking.

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I only noticed him when I dropped my red journal near the old third-floor hallway — the one that was sealed after the fire last year.

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I shouldn’t have gone alone.

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The hallway was cold. Silent.

My journal sat just inside Room 302.

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When I opened the door…

He was there.

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Sitting on a broken desk, sketching.

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He didn’t look surprised. He didn’t say hello.

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He just smiled.

And turned his notebook around.

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He had drawn me.

Sleeping.

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"You dropped this," he said calmly.

My journal was on the desk… next to something dark. Wet. Red.

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I froze.

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"You write like someone who's never been seen," he added, "I liked that."

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I backed away.

He stepped forward.

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“You saw too much,” he whispered. “Now you belong to the secret too.”

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The next day, he sat beside me in class.

No one said a thing.

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He smiled.

And I couldn’t breathe.

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In my locker, a note waited:

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> "I saved your journal.

Now you owe me your silence.

Or your smile.

Pick one."

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